This invention involves a massaging machine, the main massaging component of which consists of a brush-like roller with flexible massaging fingers: the massaging component is a fixed steel framework, inside and perpendicular to which is an adjustable level steel tube frame with a supporting and driving system to provide longitudinal movement along the steel tube framework for the massaging component, with a surface below and parallel to the length of the steel tube framework upon which the person to be massaged lies.
Similar massaging machines of this type are already known, specifically to be compared to the present invention are the characteristics of the system disclosed in DE-OS 29 05 383 (PFANSTIEL). Pfanstiel uses an unspecified finger brush roller as a massaging component, this being set in rotational motion by way of a motor drive, the drive unit providing for movement along the guide rails of the main frame: in the case of this present invention however a roller brush with finger-shaped protrusions is rotated by way of a linear actuator transmission gearing in a direction of motion opposite to that of the massaging movement, and by means of a pretensioning roller. The fingers on the roller brush are provided with a certain degree of tension before contacting the surface to be massaged in order to achieve the finger touch and stroking effect of humam fingers similar to that which occurs in orthodox manual massage. At the same time a motor-driven linear actuator provides for forward and backward movement of the entire massaging roller. In contrast to the Pfanstiel system, with its frame support at one end only and the spring component at the other end of this framework the massaging process is not completely consistent in terms of downward pressure: the present invention however provides this balanced downward pressure by construction of the steel tube framework as a variable ratio counterbalance mechanism.